See Us Eat: An All American Meal, With a Twist

Monday, September 01, 2008

An All American Meal, With a Twist

This meal was our riff on meat and potatoes with salad.

Fennel Salad
Fresh and unexpected.

-1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
-1/2 onion, thinly sliced
-2 bell peppers, thinly sliced
-homemade vinaigrette

Stir all ingredients to combine.

Roasted Garlic and Horseradish Crusted Ribeye Roast
We basically used a ribeye roast and gave it the same treatment as our standing prime rib roast. The main difference was that it took a lot less time to cook because there was no bone.

Roasted Beets and Carrots
Sweet, filling and so easy.

-6 beets, peeled and cut in chunks
-4 carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
-salt and pepper to taste
-a bit of olive oil

Toss the beets and carrots with the olive oil and the salt and pepper. Spread in a 9x13 baking dish. Cover with foil and bake on 400 for about 45 mins. Uncover and continue to bake, turning occasionally until caramelized.

Plum Pie
I'm not sure why plums are not used more frequently in pies. Plums are sweet and tart and hold up well to baking.

-2 1/4 cups flour
-2 stick butter
-20 Italian plums, pitted and quartered
-1/3 cup sugar

Cut the butter into cubes and work it into the flour with your fingers until the mixture resembled cornmeal. Add water 1tb at a time until you can form the dough into a ball. Split the ball in two. Press one ball into a pie pan for the bottom crust. Pre-bake on 375 for about 10 minutes. While the crust is pre-baking, toss the quartered plums with the sugar. Roll out the other dough ball fo rthe top crust. When the bottom crust has been in the oven for about 10 minutes, take it out and pour in the plum/sugar mixture. Then place the rolled out top crust over the top and pinch the edges to secure it to the bottom crust. Poke a bunch of holes in the top crust to release steam while the pie is baking. Bake at 375 for about an hour, or until the crust is golden brown.